


I Won't Be Able to Breathe

by PonderingTheUniverse17



Series: Love and Space Dust [5]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Heavy Angst, Post-Episode: s09e05 The Girl Who Died
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-21
Updated: 2016-05-21
Packaged: 2018-06-09 20:46:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6922777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PonderingTheUniverse17/pseuds/PonderingTheUniverse17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after "The Girl Who Died." The Doctor and Clara discuss each other's mortality.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Won't Be Able to Breathe

_She might meet someone she can't bear to lose. That happens, I believe._

The hum of the ship filled the silence between them. He was still on the stairs, sadness clouding his features. She was hesitant as she sat down behind him on the stairs, knowing he wasn’t ready to talk yet. It was like time had stopped and his body was as still as a statue. The humming faded away. The soundless room was anything but serene.

He buried his face into his hands, letting his shoulders slump. She moved forward to rest her head on his shoulder, letting her arms wrap around his chest. He could feel himself crumbling under her touch.

“I’m here,” she said softly into his ear. “Right here, right now.”

He fought hard against the tears that welled up in his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to cling onto the warmth of her skin and to beg her to never let go. Part of him was scared that she’d fade away on him at any moment, like a ghost.

Little did she know she would be one someday, haunting him during his every waking moment.

“I wanted to keep it,” he whispered, lifting his head up from his shaking hands. “The second medical kit.”

“For me?”

He nodded.

“I was going to ask you if you wanted to use it, but I already knew what your answer would be,” he said unsteadily.

They both knew. They always knew what the answer would be to such an offer. To such a burden.

“I may be a human,” she began, unable to make her voice louder than a whisper. “But you aren’t immortal either.”

Deep down, she had wished that the both of them could’ve been human together, to be able to die at the same time. She could never ask him to stop being himself, to settle down with her.

Deep down, he had wished that the both of them could’ve been Time Lords together, to be able to die at the same time. He could never ask her to stop being herself, to travel forever with her.

_I'll get in my box and I'll run and I'll run, in case all the pain ever catches up._

“Till death do us part,” he said.

“Till death do us part.”

She rose her head up from his shoulder and brought her lips to his cheek. He found himself smiling despite the ache still throbbing in his chest. This time, her touch didn’t dull out the raw, agonizing pain that tore through him. It didn’t dull it out enough to make him forget those thoughts that preyed upon his mind at every waking moment.

“How about I go make us some tea and meet you back in our room?” she asked.

“How about I help you? To help get my mind off things?” he said.

“Alright,” she said. She stood up and offered her hand to him. He took it without hesitation, squeezing it as if his life depended on it.

She couldn’t help but smirk when he stood up, as they were the same height thanks to the stairs. He rested his forehead on hers, letting his eyes close.

_I won’t be able to breathe._


End file.
